Team 8 Cowboys
by MademoiselleInk
Summary: This is what would happen if Team 8 got their own series. As cowboys. I got the idea from gabzillaz on deviantart. Rated M for later chapters. This is a terrible summary.
1. Chapter 1

The hot desert sun was heading towards the west, and so was the man in the tan leather jacket, his hat brim pulled low, creating a shadow across his features. He sat atop a chestnut-colored horse, which was moving at a slow pace, kicking up puffs of dust from the trail. The man was in no hurry; he had found what he wanted.

Under a juniper tree slept a young, ragged man in ragged cowboy attire. One arm was wrapped around a large white dog lying next to him. He had two red fang-like tattoos on his cheeks, not quite hiding his handsome features. His short but messy brown hair was currently being offered up as fodder to his horse, which munched away lazily.

"Kiba," said a deep, quiet voice.

The sleeping man swatted half-heartedly at his horse's face, but did not wake up.

"Kiba," came the voice again, followed by a sharp pain in the man's side.

The young man's eyes flew open, and he found himself staring…at a picture of himself.

"Well good morning, beautiful," he grinned tiredly.

At that, his portrait was crumpled up by strong, pale hands, revealing a man with his hat brim pulled low. Yet he could still see the man's eyes, glinting like two small chunks of obsidian. His face was pulled into a scowl, contorting what could be an attractive face. He stood, silent and ominous.

Kiba remained unperturbed, however, and instead leapt up, grinning even wider. His dog jumped up as well, wagging his tail excitedly after sniffing the man. "Well if it isn't Sharp-shooter Shino!" He wrapped his arms around the man in a bear hug, but his actions were not returned by the stolid stranger.

"You stink," was all he said, though his scowl seemed to lessen by a fraction.

"Yep, it's Shino alright! How'd you find me? Did you miss me so much, is that why you have a poster of me?"

"I followed you; it wasn't hard," replied Shino stiffly. "I did it because of _this_." He opened up the poster, smoothing it out a bit. Now that Kiba could get a closer look at it, he realized it was a wanted poster.

"You have a $10,000 bounty on your head. What on _earth_ have you been doing?" Shino's face remained hardened.

"Lighten up, pardner! That's just my tab down at the bar!"

Shino glared at Kiba suspiciously, but didn't say anything more on the subject. "You camping here for the night?"

"Sure am," Kiba said, relieved for the change of subject. "Now smile, for once, and let's eat!"

Later that night, the two young cowboys settled down to sleep on either side of the dying fire. Akamaru yawned widely, and settled down by his master. The night sky was obscured by dark clouds, moving as quietly as shadows across the moon and stars. The crickets set up a symphony, orchestrated by the branches of the tree as a breeze swept through the dry land.

"Get up," threatened a whisper in Kiba's ear. "Slowly."

He could feel the hard metal of a gun barrel pressing into his left temple, could almost sense the bullet waiting for its chance to slip into his skull. He crawled gingerly from under his blanket, noticing Akamaru was missing. The gun stayed with him the entire way. Kiba tried to see who was at the other end of the weapon, but the person's face was covered up to the eyes with a bandana. Kiba then let his eyes trail to where Shino was. By the light of the dying embers, he could make out his prostrate shape, still fast asleep.

"What do you-" Kiba began.

"Shut up," growled the assailant. "I'm doing the talking here. I don't want your life, but no one can know I was here. So be quiet, and listen. I'm here to make a deal."


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm here to make a deal."

"A deal?" Kiba asked incredulously. "Why would I-"

"I told you to be quiet. I can remove the price on your head."

"And I'll erase _your_ head if you don't drop that gun right now," came a voice from the shadows.

Shino held a .45 pistolero to the back of the stranger's head. Kiba could see the fire burning in Shino's eyes, but he couldn't tell if it was a reflection or not.

"Fine, fine," the stranger said coolly, setting his gun on the ground. Kiba swiftly picked it up and turned it on its previous owner.

"This is more like it," Kiba said. "Now, explain yourself."

The man began reluctantly, obviously realizing he had lost his advantage. "My name is Neji Hyuuga. I've come here against my uncle Hiashi's will, but you're the only one I know can help. You see, my cousin Hinata, heir to the Hyuuga clan, has been kidnapped by bandits. We do not know what their intentions are, but we believe they are after money. They have yet to contact us, which makes us think they can't have gone far. You're the best cowboy in the west, Kiba Inuzuka, and if you find Hinata I will ensure the removal of the bounty on your head."

Kiba looked surprised, and Shino stood as unmoving as a statue, a calculative look on his face.

"What's the catch?" Kiba asked doubtfully.

"Oh, there is none. We believe she was kidnapped yesterday morning. Of course, we have people looking for her, but I don't trust those unintelligent louts. Also, I must ask that when you find Lady Hinata you send word to me as soon as possible, and stay where you are. I'd like to keep our deal as quiet as possible."

"If he agrees, that is. Which, I should remind you, he hasn't," Shino said coldly.

"Too right you are, Shino ol' pal," Kiba quipped, not moving his eyes or gun away from Neji. "How do I know I can trust you'll keep up your end of the bargain?"

"Lady Hinata is under my direct care. If anything bad were to happen to her, I am held responsible. So please, do me this favor and you will be rewarded."

"Let me understand something first," Shino said. "I am well aware of the power the Hyuuga family holds in the west, but how do you plan on removing the bounty? If you wanted Kiba's help you would have removed it before hand, perhaps with a bribe, so he could move more freely, without fear of arrest. Instead you're using it as a bargaining chip. There's a part of the picture missing, and I don't like it."

Kiba shifted uncomfortably, slightly resigned about Shino's sharp intellect. Neji kept his eyes on Shino, however, and answered calmly. "I plan on removing the bounty because my family is the one that put it in place."

Shino looked at Kiba, who looked guiltily back, like a puppy that's been caught doing something bad. "I was going to tell you eventually."

"No you weren't," Shino replied, almost affectionately.

"Ok, yeah, I wasn't, you're right," Kiba admitted. "But I can't believe this little _shit_ tried to use such a dirty bribe." He emphasized "shit" by kicking Neji, knocking him on the ground. He lay there, undignified and angry, glaring up at Kiba, but remaining silent.

"I found some of his family members trying to steal some gold from a mine. I hadn't planned on catching them; I was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. A lawman, however, was there to catch them. He met his end at the hands of the Hyuugas, though. I saw it all, and rode into town to report them. Unfortunately, they saw me, and somehow got into town first, and blamed it all on me. So I find it so lovingly ironic that this idiot thinks he's doing me a great goddamn favor by removing a bounty I wasn't even guilty for." Kiba glared down at Neji, gun pointed right between his eyes. "So tell me again, why should I bother helping your useless family?"

Neji stood up, facing Kiba. "I apologize for their actions. It's just, we must keep the family name clean. I will make them take responsibility for their actions, and hopefully my uncle will not take the dishonoring of the family too horribly. They were branch members, after all. But I would still like to keep this deal quiet, at least until this whole ordeal is over. Please, I am begging you, Hinata is very important to the family."

Kiba looked disgustedly at Neji, but seemed to be thinking it over. He looked over at Shino, whose expression was blank. "Shino, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that it's just like you to get caught in under the table dealings with the most prominent family in Arizona. As much as the deal might hurt your pride, I think it's also to your advantage to get your named clear."

"Ok, scum," Kiba addressed Neji. "I'll look for your cousin. And if you don't hold up your end of the bargain, I ensure you that your days will be limited."

"Thank you," Neji looked relieved. "Your best start will be at Flagstaff to look for Hinata. She is around your age, medium height. She has long, dark hair and gray eyes. We don't know much about the gang she was taken by, though we suspect it may be the Valenzuela gang. Remember to contact me first when you find her. Do what you will with the gang members."

"If that's all you've got to say, get the hell out of here," Kiba said harshly, motioning with his gun.

Neji hesitated a moment, then said, "May I have my gun back?"

Kiba gave Neji an incredulous look. He lowered his arm, emptied the cartridge into his other hand, and then held the gun back to its original owner. "Here ya go, shithead."

"Thanks," Neji muttered, glaring at Kiba. But Kiba simply glared back, and eventually Neji, turned away, walking away into the night with what remained of his dignity.

"What an arrogant prick," Kiba muttered, shaking his head. "Well, maybe this won't be too bad. Maybe that Hinata girl is hot."

"You really do have a one-track mind," Shino commented, holstering his pistolero.

"Yeah, but then if I didn't I'd have to be clever and weird like you," Kiba grinned, already in a better mood. He looked around, ready to get back to bed, when he started to feel troubled. "Hey, where's Akamaru?"

He was answered by a deep bark, and Akamaru ran up to Kiba, whining.

"What's up, Akamaru? Where did you wonder off to?" Kiba asked worriedly. He then noticed a piece of paper rolled up and tucked into a leather strap around Kiba's left front leg. "What's this?" Kiba grabbed the note, unrolling it.

"I tied your dog up so he wouldn't make too much noise. He was a tricky bastard, but I eventually got him to leave you. So here he is, safe and sound. Please hurry and find Lady Hinata." Kiba read the note aloud. "It's signed from Neji. He tied up Akamaru? I knew he was a terrible person!"

"Well, he seems alright now," Shino said. "So, do you plan on leaving early tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Kiba sighed, scratching his dog behind the ears. Akamaru flapped his tail from side to side, kicking up dust. "Say, you didn't want to come with me, did you?"

"What?" Shino asked, turning a very slight pink color. "Well, if you wanted me to accompany you, I guess I'm not needed elsewhere…"

"Of course I want you to accompany me," Kiba said. "You're my best friend, besides Akamaru. It'll be just like the old days, when we used to go on adventures as kids. Though of course it won't just be pretend anymore. Are you up for it?"

Shino seemed slightly flustered, but still replied calmly. "I'm always up for it. These aren't the first bad guys I've seen, and they won't be the last."

"Bright and early tomorrow, then, and it'll be the start of a new adventure," Kiba grinned mischievously.

A/N: Sorry for the Neji bashing. It doesn't come from any personal contempt, it's just me keeping the story rollin'. And I know cowboys actually drove cattle, but these guys are more like freelance badasses in a western setting. So yeah, not basing it too much on historical accuracy. The rest, though, I am trying to do some research so it won't be too horrible. So thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!


End file.
